e-Sense

The Orange Foundation selected the e-Sense project – using digital technology, we are revolutionizing the education of children with deafblindness to be funded under the 2019 Funding Programme, World through Color and Sound.

Children with deafblindness and multisensory impairments face major difficulties in communication, access to information, guidance and mobility. Therefore, the education of these children involves an extremely specific and adaptable process that requires specialized techniques, knowledge and skills. Digital technology is increasingly prevalent in the education system and everyday life, but not for children with deafblindness. In order for them to have access to quality education and not to "fall behind", software is needed to adapt to their specific needs given by the combination of visual and hearing impairments.

PARTNERS

Sense International Romania, the only organization in the country specializing in deafblindness, joins forces with Code for Romania, a community of young and enthusiasts professionals who develop IT solutions in order to solve problems of society, as well as with three schools offering educational services to children and young people with deafblindness: “Vasile Pavelcu” Special Technological High School from Iaşi, The “Cristal” Inclusive Education School Centre  from Oradea and the School Center for Inclusive Education “Constantin Pufan” from Timisoara, in order to develop, test and counterpart e-Sense – a free and accessible package of open source educational software for over 335 children with deafblindness from Romania, for their parents and teachers.

In 2008, at the initiative of the Sense International Romania, the National Curriculum for Child Education with Deafbliness was developed and approved by the Ministry of Education. Now, more than a decade later, this curriculum will walk into the 21st century and be translated into digital technology language, all for the benefit of children with deafblindness and multisensory impairments. Thus, between 2020 and 2021, deafblindness and IT specialists will collaborate and find the best digital solutions to make important areas in the curriculum such as language and communication, mathematics and science, arts, humans and society education software. Children with deafblindness and multisensory impairments, their parents and teachers from the three partner schools will test and evaluate e-Sense throughout its development, using equipment purchased through the project, to ensure that the solution found is useful, real and necessary.

The final e-Sense version will be submitted for approval at the Ministry of National Education, so that to become a tool that can be used by all schools in the country that provide education to children with deafblindness and multisensory impairments, but also at home by children and their families.

Implementation period: January 2020 - December 2021

Project value: 414,804 lei